The day we found out we're PREGNANT...

was on the 15th of November 2011! It was a very special day indeed. Well, my period was late, usually it was on or before the 10th of every month. I don't keep a very strict record on these dates, so, I would just usually remember the previous month's first day of menstrual, which in my case was 5th of October. So, I have decided that 15th is the day to test it out, meanwhile, I shall not think about it.. we weren't exactly super ready to be parents yet, but at the same time, we were sort of ready.. so, we were pretty much in the middle; nonchalant on whether we're pregnant or not.

I am that type of person that seemed so sure about my career and making certain decisions but when comes to a relationship status change, I seemed so unsure about it. When SJ proposed, I was so excited for the first few moments, but after a while, I got worried that I was not ready to be someone's wife or daughter-in-law to the point that SJ asked me, 'you don't want to marry me anymore ar?'. Nearing to the wedding date, I felt jittery inside but SJ knows me best, he just said, 'stop worrying, you're ready lar!'.

Same goes for this pregnancy thing, before I got pregnant, I didn't think I am ready to be someone's mother; it's such a huge responsibility! I am sort of like a mother in my agency, where my duty is to take care of my kids (my agents) but that is only during working hours from Mondays to Fridays, but being a real mother is like 24 hours, 7 days a week for the next 20-30 years!!! From the look of the new generations nowadays, maybe until my kids turn 40! That was quite scary! 

Plus, my biggest fear is the labour pain. That has been my biggest fear about this whole pregnancy thing; I rather substitute it with bungee jumping, sky diving or climbing some mountains. Before I got pregnant, SJ's agreement with me was that he will let me do whatever I want because it's my body; I can have cesarean-section delivery and I can have all the drugs that I want so it will be the least pain experience even though he doesn't think c-section is good for me and the baby. He has tried convincing me many times to go for natural birth and I would very harshly tell him that; in that case, I would rather he gets pregnant for the whole 9 months and deliver instead while I do all the carrying of heavy things, working more hours, giving him massages, stay with him in the entire delivery process and I promise to wake up everytime baby wakes up in the middle of the night. His smart response would be, 'I wished I could but I couldn't!'. Haha! But anyway, I'm have a different view on labour now. I am all ready to try natural delivery for now and why I made this decision is another day's story to tell.

Back to the 15th of November; on the 14th, I remembered it was on a weekday evening, we went to the pharmacy and bought two pregnancy test kits. I was the 'kiasu' one, that was why got two instead of just one to be doubly sure. Felt a little weird buying these kits, felt so grown up that we're really going into the next stage of life, being parents!We got two different brands to ensure the results are correct and consistent.

The very next morning, we both woke up early as usual to prepare to work, I used one pregnancy test kit but the result came out as unsure, the second red line was very faint and the reason given by the box was that either I was pregnant but at a very early stage or I may not be pregnant at all. Two hours later, I was still at home, I used the 2nd test kit and it confirmed that I am pregnant!!! The second right red line was very clear and dark red. Was feeling both happy and nervous at the same time in the toilet. Got so excited that I took my phone and sent this photo to SJ while he was at work.

My SMS message with this picture to SJ was 'Congrats, you're going to be a Daddy!' :))

One of the first few things that ran in my mind was, 'Oh no! I just bought two new dresses few days ago!!! Better wear them soon!' Haha! And the other was I won't be able to go see the new house renovation progress anymore.  That very same day, I have decided to wear my new top to work to celebrate this happy news. 

We were so excited that we decided to see a doctor on the same day to confirm this pregnancy; our preference was somewhere nearby in PJ or Damansara clinics. My first choice was Dr Joyce Thum, a gynecologist at Old Town, PJ because I recently went to her for a pap smears test but she is not an obstetrician and she was away that day. Our second choice was our friend, Dr Ng Ee Vern, a general practitioner at Uptown, Damansara. So, I called to make an appointment to see him, the very last appointment of the day, 5.30pm at his clinic. 

5.30pm came that day & I met SJ at the clinic. I remembered it was raining and we parked at the new multi-level car park at Uptown. Ee Vern saw me and he didn't' know why we were there; he thought I was consulting him about my recently done blood test with him. He was explaining the blood test results to me again; paying extra attention to my thyroid hormone level because of my thyroid surgery in 2010. He probably wondered why SJ was there as well. I am quite an independent person, I would usually go for all my doctor's consultations by myself. After chatting for quite a while, he finally sit back, put his hands together and asked us, 'What brings you both here today?'. I thought it was quite funny because it took so long for him to ask us. Told him that we suspect I am pregnant and he has a delighted look on his face. He is happy because his twin girls are going to have play-mates soon!

He has a old ultrasound machine in his room and he scanned my tummy. That was our very first time seeing that super tiny blur dot on the ultrasound machine screen. His machine is not good enough to do anything else such as see the heart moving/blinking or listen to the heart-beats. He said that it's one egg, so confirmed I am not having twins and it's at the right place; it's in the uterus and not in the Fallopian tubes which is not an ectopic pregnancy. So it was all good :)))))))) SJ and I were elated!

Here's a picture of our very first ultrasound taken on the 15th November 2011 by Ee Vern's old, super unclear and dark ultrasound machine. SJ and I were both very happy to see the little black round in the middle which Ee Vern has identified as our baby!

Ee Vern calculated that I was 5 weeks pregnant on that day. He recommended us a few obstetricians as it was time to 'shop' for our obstetrician and we should start seeing obstetricians the following week. His first advice was not to take any herbal foods such as 'tom yum' and 'bak kut teh' because his wife was given the same advice by his wife's obstetrician. He also recommended me to start taking pre-natal supplement, Obimin-Pluz and I have been taking it since then. Ee Vern was the first person to know this news, followed by his wife ;) We told him that we won't be telling this news to our friends until after three months. Before we parted, Ee Vern asked whether did we plan this pregnancy? It was sort of yes and no and he thinks that couples that are not too stressed up on planning a pregnancy will usually get pregnant easily. Thought that was a very good tip for getting pregnant, that is don't have too high expectations. 

We left his clinic feeling so happy and special. We suddenly realised that there is no longer just the two of us, there is going to be three of us, a little family. I felt so special while walking on the street because there is a child inside me. We were stuck in a terrible jam for the next two hours (usually it takes us less than 30 mins!) on our way home due to heavy rain and during this time, I was chatting with SJ on the phone (because we drove separate cars) telling each another the things we want to do for our baby while I was surfing pregnancy websites on the Ipad2. From these websites, I've calculated my estimated due date and prepared a list of questions to interview my obstetrician before deciding on him or her on the following week. 

Got home for dinner with the Yongs and SJ broke the news at the dinner table. My parents-in-law conveyed their congratulations and SJ's grandmother was so happy that she is going to be a great granny soon! SJ's grandmother was most excited with this news. SJ's brother said he will spoil the kid a lot. The next day, we told the Chongs in the office after training in the evening. SJ was in my office that day and after almost everyone has went back home, I waved for my parents and sister to come into my office room as I have an announcement to make. My parents came into my office with puzzled looks wondering what the secretive announcement that I was going to make. Told them the news and the Chongs were all very happy. Jamie wants to be an awesome and fashionable aunt! She quite immediately said she wants to dress up the baby so the baby will be a very stylish baby. 

That week was really a very special one :)) Thinking and remembering it while recording it down in this blog makes me feel warm and fuzzy again inside. Almost 20 weeks have passed since this very week and baby has grown so much and actively kicking inside nowadays :)))) Looking forward for the coming weeks until baby's arrival! 

I'm craving for cakes, chocolates & ice-cream!! ARRGGHH!!! Help me!! :O

This whole week has been sweet sweet and sweet stuffs!! I had sweet foods almost every day in this past whole week! I had 1.5 slices (I shared half a slice with a friend for lunch so I won't feel so guilty) of chocolate cake on Friday! I tried to make myself feel better and explain to SJ that it's ok for me to crave for sweet things this week because I'm in week 24! And according to updates by babycenter.com.my, 'Taste buds are now forming, and, believe it or not, acquiring a sweet tooth is all part of it.' Haha!

On Saturday, I have decided to challenge myself to NOT have any desserts for ONE WEEK! SJ is like the challenge-master appointed by me and he will try to make sure I stay in this challenge. Yesterday was the first day and I sort of broke my challenge already because I had an 'ice-cream potong' red bean favour (thinking that red-bean is probably the healthier option) when I was with my friends  :( Somehow I had an idea that ice-cream potong has less sugar than other ice-creams because this Malaysian made ice-cream probably had more ice or other ingredients in it than sugar. I know Baskin Robbins and Haagen Diaz are super duper sweet and creamier compared to this.

Plus I am HUNGRY ALL THE TIME for the past whole week!!! :((( I want to eat or munch all the time especially sweet stuffs! I know that I have been having too much sweet stuffs because I could feel itchness in my private area. I had the same problem after chinese new year and the doctor said it could due to eating too much sweet food and with all the hormone changes in my body due to pregnancy, I could have easily contracted fungal infection. After speaking with a few mothers and expectant mothers, I realised almost everyone I spoke to had the same problem in that area! I know that I must must must reduce my sweet foods intake.

A colleague of mine was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at about week 30 and she has only gained 8 kilograms. I have already gained 7 kilograms in week 22. I hope I will not gain more than 2 kilograms in my next antenatal visit. I have sort of like self-diagnosed myself with gestational diabetes yesterday. I wanted to have something sweet after dinner yesterday but kept asking SJ for permission because I was feeling so bad if I had any without his approval. Everytime I wanted to eat something, especially more carbohydrates (such as biscuits) or sweet foods, I would look at him to get his approval but he has been very strict. He wouldn't even want to share a piece of Ferrero Rocher chocolate with me yesterday :( I offered to share a can of Coke or 100 plus with him on Friday night (this is doubly worse because these drinks are chilled and super sweet) and he gave me a box drink (which is still sweet but has lesser sugar content compared to a can of Coke) instead. I guess it's a very good thing that I have such a strict husband because I know he will be a strict parent and our kids will not be able to get their way all the time. I know I can do it, I just need to find substitutes or distract myself from FOODSSS, especially sweet stuffs.

So, I goggled about gestational diabetes yesterday night to find a substitute food that I can take which is healthier and suitable for diabetic patients (I'm not diabetic 'yet' and hope I won't be one). I had this craving feelings that I need to eat something sweet. After a few websites, there was a suggestion that I should take a muesli/cereal bar instead because having carbohydrate is the better option compared to chocolates or cakes. I have a bar of muesli in the house! Told SJ and he said OK, so I happily went to grab it. Was munching happily in front of him and suddenly he commented, 'how come your muesli bar got chocolate one?' because he saw a layer of chocolate around the muesli. The flavour of my Carman's muesli bar wrapper was Dark Chocolate! SJ must be thinking I am such an extreme because the flavour of my muesli bars is also chocolate! But I got these muesli before I got pregnant, so technically, I didn't plan to cheat. I used to be a super crazy chocolate lover before I got pregnant. I can finish a whole chocolate bar at one go.

More info about gestational diabetes: In this website: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001898/

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:
Pregnancy hormones can block insulin from doing its job. When this happens, glucose levels may increase in a pregnant woman's blood. You are at greater risk for gestational diabetes if you:


- Are older than 25 when you are pregnant (I'm above 25, so this is one risk factor)
- Have a family history of diabetes (Good thing all my family members don't have diabetes). 
- Gave birth to a baby that weighed more than 9 pounds or had a birth defect (Not applicable as this is first baby for me)
- High blood pressure (I have low blood pressure)
-  Have too much amniotic fluid (Hmm, this is possible as my bump is so huge. Shall ask dr next time I see him). 
- Have had an unexplained miscarriage or stillbirth (Not applicable)
- Were overweight before your pregnancy (Nope, definitely not overweight before pregnancy).


The biggest concern of gestational diabetes is that the baby may get too big for delivery and may have complications at birth. The mothers that had gestational diabetes during their pregnancy, they will most likely to develpe type 2 diabetes in 5 to 10 years time and the children will likely to be obese and develop type 2 diabetes in the future. So therefore, I must try to prevent this from happening.

Been reading more websites on this subject and many women commented that they do not have any of these risk factors at all but still develop gestational diabetes! The only way to prevent it is to exercise regularly and eat healthily to make sure do not gain too much weight, from the early start of the pregnancy. With more information from the media, I am getting more paranoid and I think this will definitely give me the motivation to eat healthily from now onward!

Bad dreams GO AWAY!

I'm week 24 since Thursday! Yesterday was probably the most worried day of the month for me. Don't know why I just felt so down and worried about baby a lot yesterday. I told SJ and he asked whether did baby moved and I told him baby's movements/kicks are not assuring enough nowadays :(  I want to listen to baby's heartbeats :((  It has been almost 2 weeks since my antenatal visit, so I guess it's the 'circle of worry' starting again now. Can't wait to see doctor on the 13th of April. I was worrying most of yesterday and just before I went to bed last night, I told SJ that I had enough of this worrying lar, it doesn't help at all and I cannot do anything about it, so, I just DECIDED to stop worrying! Haha. Wished I had made that decision earlier yesterday and I could have a happier day yesterday. I'm definitely happier today! ;P

Maybe because of my worrying yesterday and some (or rather most) of the days during this pregnancy, I have been having more vivid bad dreams and some of them woke me up in the middle of the night. I was woken up last night too. My dreams were random, weird and scary. Yesterday I dreamt that I was being chased by an ugly-looking scary man, it was like a combination of 'saw-massacre' murderer with 'underworld' creatures man and I was running up a hill extremely extremely slowly. He was trying to grab me from behind and I woke up. What a relief when I woke up but it was definitely scary. There was one time that I dreamt that SJ went clubbing and left the pregnant me at home, I was so angry at him for leaving me at home alone that I woke up and scolded him. Poor him as he got scolded by me in the morning before he went to work that day. It was so weird and funny at the same time because he is definitely not a clubbing/disco person. The chances of me leaving him with the baby at home while I go clubbing is higher than him doing it to me.

I don't really think about my dreams during the day and the details of the bad dreams would slowly fade away unless I described to SJ in the mornings. I can function quite normally during the day and the bad dreams don't affect me much. I have read about bad dreams and pregnancy in babycenter.com.my before I started to have bad dreams. I was quite prepared to have some weird dreams because I was informed by that website that this is usual in pregnant women and these are due to the anxiety and fears of the expectant mothers. Expectant mothers are champions of bad dreams.

I goggled about this and there is this website that has some good news about bad dreams in pregnancy. 

http://wondertime.go.com/parent-to-parent/article/pregnancy-dreams.html

First, there's the link between bad dreams and "good" labor. The late psychologist Patricia Maybruck, the grandma of pregnancy dream research, published a dissertation in 1986 based on research suggesting that pregnant women with stressful dreams — particularly ones in which the dreamer acted assertively against a threat — had shorter labors, as in fewer than 10 hours. Her hypothesis: that there is a connection between successfully "fighting back" in nightmares and fighting to more fully control labor.

Secondly, there may be a link between bad dreams in pregnancy and doing better, emotionally, after the baby is born. In a 2003 Hebrew University study, Tamar Kron and Adi Brosh cite a lower incidence of postpartum depression (PPD) among women who'd had disturbing pregnancy dreams. Perhaps, Kron and Brosh speculate, the pregnant women who did not later develop PPD "did 'emotional work' with the help of their dreams."

I guess this is one positive thing about bad dreams; it's because the expectant mother cares a lot about her baby. I noticed that I get more bad dreams on the days that I worried more. There is definitely a link between the emotional-being and the mind; the dreams are interpreting my thoughts when I sleep. Spoke to my associate today, who is also pregnant and she been having bad dreams too. I didn't know about pregnant women having such vivid bad dreams until now as no one I know has mentioned this to me. I used to have so much vivid dreams before I got pregnant that I thought I was the only one experiencing this now.

Must really think happy thoughts everyday because I want these bad dreams to go away.

Happy news for 23rd March! It's our 3rd official (registration of marriage) wedding anniversary & SJ has got a much fatter with a bump wife compared to a super thin new wife 3 years ago. I remembered I was so thin that my mother-in-law asked me to gain some weight to look better. Oh well, I'm sure I can get back to that shape after baby arrives :P

New haircut for a new stage in life!

Just had a new hair cut last Friday and I'm feeling so happy with my new hair now ;)))

I had long hair for about 12 years after I left secondary school. I have kept it straight all those years and gave it a perm for the first time in 2006 because I kept getting comments from clients that I was looking too young. A perm instantly added 5 more years to my looks, which was quite helpful at that time.My hair was most beautiful; straight smooth, long and silky during my wedding in 2009 because I put in so much effort by going to regular hair treatments in the saloon. 2010 was the bad hair year. Soon after my wedding I did more things to my hair and it took a toll and went completely damaged, especially after SJ & I went to Phuket in August 2010. It got worse after my hairstylist suggested I permed it again (after my Phuket trip!) to give it more volume which was a super bad idea! I'd never get his advice to perm or colour again.

Finally cut my hair after trying and trying for 6 months to revive my beautiful locks. I was spending so much money going to the saloon to get treatments but my hair just couldn't absorb any moisture. It was like dry grass :(( So, I had this hair cut; removing all the curls and colours in June 2011. I was super happy!

Picture taken on 17th June 2011

It was the best decision that I've got for my hair for the past 2 years. I felt so light, I spent so much lesser time to care for my hair; shampoo, conditioning and blow-drying. It was wonderful. The last time I had short hair was in school.. I was looking so much younger. 

Then, this short hair thing got quite addictive and I went back to have a shorter but more matured cut the very next month!

Picture taken on 26th July 2011

I was very tempted to have a super short hair cut but was afraid that I might not look good in it. I have a round shaped face and I was afraid that I would look chubby. I have told SJ that I will cut my hair super short when there is a life changing event happening; the next stage in our relationship, that is when we're going to have a baby! We were sort of like planning to have a baby in that year.

A few months later, we found out the good news but did not share it with our friends yet. I was so excited that I have decided to cut my hair super short! This hair cut was after much discussion with my hairstylist; that is to continue to keep it long or have it really short for confinement period.

Picture taken on 1st December 2011

My hairstylist thinks that it's better to have really short hair during the confinement period because in the Chinese belief, the new mother is usually not allowed to wash her hair to prevent rheumatism. The hairstylist's theory was shorter hair will produce less oil, which would not clog the hair pores so much and this will prevent lesser hair fall and balding. I agreed with him and I was so thankful to have my hair short during my first trimester. It was so much easier to manage with the nausea and giddiness in the first trimester. I could wash my hair in less than 3 minutes and I didn't even have to conditioned and blow dry it. It was fantastic. 

Maintaining and making sure my hair was in place was the last thing on my priority list in my first trimester. I was more concerned making sure I was feeling ok and trying not to vomit. Having short hair is also so much easier to travel. I used to travel with many many bottles consist of conditioners, serum, hair mask, hair tonic and the hair dryer because I had such thick long hair that I needed a strong powerful hair dryer or I would take literally forever to dry my hair. With my new short hair now, I just needed a small bottle of shampoo and a comb!

But recently, I have been growing so much, putting so much weight on my face, I think this super short hair is not suitable as it doesn't hide my chubby cheeks. My mom suggested that I should have longer hair so that I would look more balance and more feminine. That's what I told my hairstylist and he suggested a bob; short behind with long fringe. That what I had last Friday! ;)

Picture taken on 18th March 2012. 

Here's a picture taken with a friend's 3 months baby, little Ethan. He is such a handsome boy!

My plan is to try to keep my hair as long as possible for the next 3-4 months, trying to achieve the 2nd picture length in this post and I shall make a decision in July on whether to have it long or have it super duper short before baby comes along. I guess from this post, my friends who are reading probably are surprised that I have put so much thoughts on my hair because this is quite a long post on HAIR! Haha! It's Tuesday! HAPPY TUESDAY! 

There are reasons why Mothers have to be pregnant for 9 months...

I'm at week 23, or about 5 months plus pregnant now. I'm not exactly sure how many months I am in and it's easier to keep track on the weeks. SJ thinks in the pregnancy world, it takes 4.5 weeks to make a month because the pregnancy period is 9 months or 40 weeks. So, 23 weeks divided by 4.5 weeks equals to 5.1 months.

I am 

pregnant :)

SJ noticed that I'm becoming more 'motherly' nowadays.. slowly developing motherly senses to prepare for baby's arrival. One most obvious change is that I'm more of a light sleeper now. I am much easily woken up nowadays compared to pre-pregnancy. I used to sleep like a log, seriously, SJ could be using the hair dryer only about 2 feet away from me and I could still sleep soundly without knowing that he was blow-drying his hair. I could sleep with the lights on or off, whether someone is moving in and out of my bedroom before I got pregnant. I did not even stir! I was used to not 'hearing' my alarm when it rings and that annoys SJ a real lot because he had to wake up to turn off my alarm and wake me up telling me that my alarm just went off. I am not sure whether I was a deep sleeper or I was just sleep-deprived because I used to stay up till very late and had super early mornings compared to now as I am having enough sleep nowadays.

SJ is definitely a much light sleeper than me. He would usually complain that my phone makes way too much noise and he was amazed that I could sleep through it because I would be so crazy and put lots and lots (seriously a lot, up to 20 or more) of reminders, alarms and notifications for things to do and appointments starting as early as 7am EVERY DAY. That really drove SJ so mad that I had to silent my phone over the weekends. I didn't have this problem or even noticed that it was a problem (because I slept through them) as we were not staying together initially but have to compromise since he got back to work in KL. 

Things are different now because I would be easily woken up; when SJ turns on/off a switch, when he leaves the bed, when the bedroom door is open/closed. I could wake up with the slightest noise. I could even tell he was going to work by the smell of SJ's shaving balm or perfume in the early morning. Now, SJ cannot leaves the room or make any movements without me knowing! I'm not sure if that's a good change for him :P

SJ thinks that I'm more of a light sleeper nowadays because I'm going to be a mother soon. This is to prepare when baby wakes up in the middle of the night and I won't sleep through the baby's cries. If I sleep through it, I think I'll be such a horrible mother! Many of my friends also commented that I'm looking more motherly now, a nicer way to say that I'm looking more 'aunty' ;) When I was at the reception of a restaurant to put my name in the waiting list for dim sum lunch today, that front desk person put down 'Mrs Amy' instead of 'Ms'. She wrote 'Ms' first but dashed it across and put 'Mrs' instead. Haha. Maybe that is to indicate to her other colleagues that should they be looking for Amy, look for a more 'aunty' Amy and not a hot sexy Amy :S 

There are reasons that on why human mothers go through 9 months before the baby comes along. It will be so difficult for a woman to accept a new baby in mentally, emotionally and physically if a baby appears in a MONTH! 9 months is good for the body to adapt and make changes to welcome the baby into this world. I am also slowly preparing myself for the natural birth during this pregnancy period. I agree with the statement that every mother has a special instinct for their kid that is formed when the baby comes into this world. A mother knows the baby's needs from the baby's cries and no other person knows the baby as well as the own mother. I think this goes on even after the baby becomes an adult. It's such a amazing bond that can never be explained. 

Two mothers told me over lunch today that motherhood is such an amazing fulfilling experience even though it was super duper difficult at first, with all the interrupted sleeps etc. And I'm looking forward to it! But with very high expectations that it's going to be VERY VERY DIFFICULT for the first few months :P

Week 23! Daddy could feel baby's kicks! :)))))

I'm into week 23 now. How time flies! The weeks just passed by so quickly. Today (Friday, 16th March) is SUPER SPECIAL because SJ could feel baby's kicks/movements! :)))

Found this picture and thought it was quite funny. Baby doing taekwando in the tummy ;)

I think this is what going to happen in the 3rd trimester when baby has no much space in my tummy and I'll then feel his constant movements. I usually feel baby's movements after meals, that is after lunch and dinner or when I am sitting in a quiet room. I could also feel baby's movement when I am stuck in the traffic jams, which is quite frequent because I'm working in the jam-packed KL city. 

When I started to feel baby's movements in week 18, I've told SJ about it and he put his hand on my tummy trying to feel baby's kicks but he could not feel a thing. Sometimes I would go 'Ooo, baby's kicking now' but I could see from his face that he couldn't understand what was it like even though I pointed to him the spot that baby was kicking. I tried to describe to him that it was like a poke from the inside, a soft poke/push on my tummy from the inside, which I would then demonstrate by poking his arm. He would usually say ok but I knew that he doesn't really understand and I thought it's really too bad that I could not share these new fantastic sensations with him.

But today he felt baby's kicks!!! :)) We were watching 'So you think you can dance' on tv after dinner. I was sitting on the couch and I could feel baby's kicking quite strongly. Maybe baby wanted to dance too! I could see that my bump moved a little when baby kicked and I was pretty sure if someone placed their hands on my bump, they could feel it too. I told SJ to place his hand on the spot where baby just kicked; usually baby would kick 2 to 3 times on the same spot and SJ felt it!!! There was a delighted smile on his face :)))) It's such a fulfilling discovery!

Well, we been trying to feel more baby kicks tonight since that moment. Baby probably wondered why were there so much pressure (by hands) placed on the tummy area which probably had reduce his personal space! SJ told baby not to kick mommy too hard later because he is afraid that it might hurt mommy. That was really so sweet of him ;) 

As for now, I really don't mind feeling baby kicks all the time. Sometimes when I got so busy running around with work and forgot that I'm pregnant since I'm feeling ok most of the time nowadays, I would stop everything for a minute or two and feel baby's movement in my tummy and that feeling is definitely one of the best feelings in the world ;) That's definitely one of the happiest moments that tells me that everything is going great and nothing is worth worrying or stressed about. Baby kicks never fail to bring relief and a smile to my face ;) It's priceless!

You're so BIG!!!

Yes, that's the sentence of the day, or rather the week!!! Been hearing this so often for the past one to two weeks especially yesterday that I was quite annoyed. It's like.. it's obvious lar I'm big, don't have to tell me so MANY times. I think my mom told me like 5-10 times in this week (and it was only Wednesday!) that I'm huge and I don't think telling me over and over again will make my bump grow any smaller :S

Here's a photo of me taken on 14th March evening, at week 22 only. Doesn't matter if I'm huge, most importantly, I'M HEALTHY & HAPPY!!!! ;)

This photo is one of the smallest-looking bump that was taken yesterday because I was standing. The others of me sitting down looked way bigger.

I met two expectant mothers this week; on Tuesday and yesterday, Wednesday. Both of them gave the same comments that I'm way bigger than them & one of them even doubted that I got my week 22 right. Haha! One of them is about a month ahead of me, around week 27 but her bump is so much smaller than mine. Her baby only weighs 400 plus grams and mine was about 506 grams on Friday. The other is just 2 weeks behind me; I actually found out her pregnancy together with her when I went together with her to see a doctor for her insurance purpose medical examinations. That was many months ago, which I thought I was also about a month ahead of her but apparently it is only two weeks. Maybe she got her pregnancy weeks wrong initially because I'm definitely sure I'm in week 22 now. My Dr's ultrasound images and measurements confirmed I'm week 22 last Friday.

I know that the bump sizes is not a competition. I know some expectant mothers or fathers prefer a smaller or bigger bump. Most of them prefer bigger bumps because studies have shown that most pregnant women are proud of their bumps. I have a male friend who was complaining that her wife's bump is smaller than mine (almost every time he sees me!) and she is a month ahead of me. So, I guess I'll just take these comments positively and accept them with pride.. my bump is bigger than usual and I'm happy about it! ;)

I measured my belly again last night and it's the same as Sunday, which was 39 inches for week 22. I was 38 inches in week 21. That's another inch gain within a week. Seriously, if this continues, I think I might really reach 57 inches by week 40!!!??? Haha. My friends have reassured me that it won't likely to happen because they did not reach 50 inches at the end of their pregnancy. So, I still have about 10 inches to go before the 50th inch. Will be measuring my belly on every Sunday.

Pregnancy talk is the main topic in my everyday conversations nowadays. There is a total of 15 dragon babies I know that have born and will be born this year; this is a year to date number in my list. I'm sure I'll continue to add names into this list. I have been buying so many baby stuffs whenever I see a sale or some interesting items, not because of my baby but for these new babies that are coming to this world! There will be a huge increase of population this year, especially in the Chinese community. SJ and I have to quickly search for kindergarten, primary school once baby is born.

Feeling the stress a little as baby's arrival is nearing. Next major thing to do is researching, surveying and confirming shopping list!!!

Baby Shopping!

Aunty Jamie or will be known as Yi Yi to baby bought all these for our baby!! Since Jamie knows it's a boy, it's so much easier to choose.. these clothes are soooooo cute!! THANK YOU Jamie Yi Yi!! Was so happy to receive this picture message from her :)))

 Mom & Baby's Expo 2012 was held at Midvalley, KL last weekend. It was also the very first time SJ & I went to do some serious baby shopping, or rather window shopping because we haven't been doing much research on baby products and we have so little knowledge on what's in the market. Good thing we have got this list when we were looking at strollers at Baby Cottage, PJ. This list is REALLY useful! Shall use this list to shop ;) Also I'm so lucky to be surrounded by new mommies (you know who you are if you're reading this!) and I can always go to them to get advice before I purchase anything :))))))

We really should start checking out from the internet or forums on what's recommended and not. My usual strategy when I see a particular product range, example the strollers, I would ask the promoter for the best-sellers in the shop. This is because I believe that particular model is a best-seller for many good reasons; value for money, quality, functionality etc and that many people has probably done a lot of research before they decide on this particular item, therefore, I'll just go for the best-seller. I am not a person that compares much or maybe I'm just lazy. I'd usually just get three quotations that fits my budget range and I'll usually pick one of them after I've done a list of pros and cons on these three quotations. I practically do a pros and cons list in almost every decision I've made! :S

The things that we focused on yesterday were the ranges and prices of baby bottles, organic made products, strollers, breast pump machines, stem-cell companies and baby cots. Had to stay focus because we didn't have a whole day there. So many different types of products/companies that we've never heard of! Things that we bought yesterday were 3 boxes of organic detergent powder (buy 2 boxes, free 1; have to start washing baby's clothes soon), bibs and some organic toys. Really going for organic stuffs :P 

I have so many things cluttered around that I really need to get sorted out before 3rd trimester. I really must list down the items that I already have or will be getting from friends/family and a list on what to get as this list would be really handy when comes to shopping. So much to do! At the same time, SJ is coming out a list of things to get for our new house! This year is really a busy but exciting year!!

It's a BOY!!

Last Friday was quite an exciting day ;) We were going for my monthly antenatal visit on that day! Don't think anyone gets so happy to see doctor! Haha! My sister, Jamie came as well this time. I brought my thumbdrive with the hope to save the ultrasound visual and audio but unfortunately we couldn't because Dr. Choong doesn't think his machine can do that :( He recommended me to go to FMGC, Jaya 1, Petaling Jaya to get a detailed 3D/4D scan because they are the scanning experts. Dr. Choong had an amused look that we're just so excited because we're first time parents :P

Started that day's consultation with a lot of questions from me:
1. I wanted to know how big is the baby now because many people been asking me this question which I have no idea.
Answer: He would measure and let me know today so I can let my friends know. Expectant mothers of dragon babies are more competitive!
2. Am I too big for my current stage?
Answer: SJ is tall and I'm quite tall myself, so it's quite normal to expect that baby's quite big. He thinks bigger baby is good. So, nothing to worry about.
3. Baby been kicking me on my right side my of belly. What is his position now?
Answer: He said that it's common for baby to kick on my right side but soon, it will be all over my tummy. Baby's position that day was head down and his legs were up horizontally.
4. My mother has been very concerned about Down Syndrome and asked me about baby's neck measurements.
Answer: Dr. Choong did the measurement when I was 3rd month pregnant and it was normal. Plus my blood test also came back low risk. So, it's nothing to worry about. The only way to confirm is by doing an amniocentesis test which has a 1% risk of miscarriage. He had cases where the results came back normal but the baby fell.
5. Also told him about my friend's stillborn baby on the 8th month and I wanted to know what are the causes.
Answer: There could be so many reasons but the main reason is birth defect but most cases are closed with unknown cause because it's just too painful for the parents to find out more from autopsy.

Most of the answers that he gave me that day was sort of expected. I think there is nothing much doctors can say other than keep on reassuring the patients that everything is going to be ok. He probably gets these questions a zillion times in a day and even more with new parents, like myself.

Dr Choong spent a lot of time at the ultrasound that day because he had an audience (my sister!). Jamie stood near him at the ultrasound screen. There were 2 screens; one that Dr Choong was clicking and operating on, and the other was across the consultation bed that SJ and I were looking at. Jamie tried to record the ultrasound with her Ipad2 but I'm not sure if it was clear. I didn't mind looking at the ultrasound all the time because it was fun seeing some black and white images moving around and I was trying to visualise what's on the screen. The first thing Dr Choong pointed out was the heart, which was blinking and beating. The next thing he pointed out was 'it's a boy'! He was showing baby's penis on the screen but I couldn't really see it. Jamie and SJ could see it. So, it's confirmed a boy! We can now start looking at baby things in blue colour, clothes with soccer ball, dinosaurs, aeroplanes designs. hehe.

He measured baby's head circumference and baby is estimated to be 506grams that day. I have gained 7 kilograms and baby is less than 600grams! I was expecting baby to be bigger but Dr said that baby's growing well, so it's all good. Dr also checked baby's heart and other organs and all look good. He also checked the heartbeats (my favourite part!) and the rhythm sounds regular, good and strong :)))))))) I was really happy leaving his clinic that day. Felt so relieved and happy that all is good. I have a 'circle' of worry that goes around almost every month, especially in the past two months. Each time after my dr's visit I would be really relieved but as the time passes (usually between 2-3 weeks later), I'll start to worry again and I've told SJ that I wished we could go for Dr's visit every 3 weeks instead of 4 weeks. I think 4 weeks is a little too long.

Dr. Choong suggested that we go and have a look at the labour and post-natal rooms. We went to the rooms and there were nurses showing us the rooms; what was inside, some of them were like suites with fridge, sofa and tv. I was wondering how long usually the expectant mothers would be in the labour room because it was so nice with all these facilities. Her reply was up to 48 hours :S I really hope I won't take that long. I am going to be in one of these rooms in less than 5 months time and seeing these rooms helped me prepare mentally by visualising that we will be there in July.

We were in the hospital longer than usual that day but it was all good :) I was happy and decided to reward myself by having a few sips of cold Starbucks frappuccino which I shared with Jamie! :)))) I'm not supposed to have cold drinks but I guess a few sips should be ok because I was feeling very happy. I know these happy feelings are going to last for a very long time :))

I'm 22 weeks pregnant today! :)

Today (Thursday, 8th March) marks the beginning of week 22 :) 

Felt like I've ballooned so much in this past one week. SJ thinks that I've grown quite a bit since Monday when he last saw me. He was away for business for 2 days. A client asked me today whether I'm 5-6 months pregnant now? My reply was like, I'm end of 4 months or beginning of 5 months only and she thinks that I'm pretty huge. Another person guessed that my due date is June, but actually it's July.

Babycenter.com sends me weekly updates on my pregnancy which I would forward to SJ. There was this part in today's newsletter states that 'If people are telling you that you look smaller or bigger than you should at this point, remember that all women and their babies grow at different rates. What's important is that you see continuous growth and change, not how fast or slow it is'. So, I guess it doesn't matter what size I am now, it's not a competition and I'm proud of my bump, whatever size/shape it is :) I should wear more tight tops so show off my bump even though I know my Mom would not like it. My mom thinks that tight maternity clothes are awful. Haha! 


Today has been a crazy busy day but has been a very productive day, in terms of at work. I'm feeling most comfortable now. I can move much quicker now in the morning without feeling nausea. It used to take me a long time to get ready to work. Now, I can almost use the same amount of time to get ready as when before I got pregnant :))) My appetite level is back to my pre-pregnancy; I don't eat as much now. I'm eating normal 3 meals now. I was eating 5 meals in my 1st trimester and I was always hungry. My skin is extra dry nowadays. Have to put really lots and lots of lotion. A friend commented that I smelled like a baby today with all the lotion that I've put on. Developed some rash on my knee since yesterday and the skin in my knee area hurts when it's dry. Also noticed some slight swollen feet and calves since yesterday :S Really have to practice some yoga moves at home and elevate my feet when I sleep. I think I would not be able to fit into my shoes very soon. 


So much changes is happening but I'm embracing it happily because baby is growing :) Really can't wait for 4.15pm tomorrow because I get to hear baby's heartbeats and see baby! One of my favourite thing! Oh yes, must remember to bring a thumbdrive to try to save baby's ultrasounds. It's FRIDAY tomorrow!! YAY! 

Yesterday was not such a happy day..

this sounds way better than, 'it was a sad sad day', right? I used to play this game called 'Mafia mafia' and the game facilitator would announce this sentence every round of the game when someone is out of the game. Monday midnight, I went to my Facebook after I published my post and was shocked to hear the news that a friend lost her baby at 8th month pregnancy. I was quite disturbed by this news that I could not really sleep that night resulted a tired and sleepy Tuesday. Hence, no post on Tuesday night because had to sleep early. Everything about this couple (they're quite close to SJ and I) just kept on running in my head over and over again and I thought of them so much the whole of yesterday.

I guess I'm feeling really sad for them because I'm also going to be a parent soon and it's so devastating to have this unfortunate incident to happen. It made me believe even more that many things are not in our hands.. it's in God's hands. I'm not a spiritual person but I do believe there's a bigger force out there. Maybe certain things are just meant or not meant to be. I really hope this couple will recover soon emotionally and physically.

One of the topic that I researched on when I was in uni studying Psychology was on coping with changes in life stages and how much stress each person would experience when going through these stages such as positive ones; starting work, getting married, being a new parent, children leaving home, being a grandparent etc and the negative aspects; divorce, death of family members, death of best friends etc. Death of spouse was rated as the most stressful of all followed by death of child. I remembered that I did not agree with the findings because I really think they both should be rated the same. There were some coping mechanisms suggested but there is really not much other people can do or say to make the situation better. SJ was very sweet suggesting that maybe we should send flowers to the couple but I thought we better not because they might not want to be reminded about this.

So, it's really true when people said that babies are miracles! And I'm thankful everyday that I'm blessed with many wonderful things happening and people around me every single day. I'm appreciating everyday and I wouldn't want everyday to go by feeling less grateful or thankful for all these great things happening to me. There is no reason to not smile everyday (especially after I had a Bell's Palsy scare!) or getting angry/frustrated over small things. MUST SMILE EVERYDAY! On a happier note, baby is moving/kicking a lot these two days (yesterday & today)!! Maybe because baby knows that Mommy is worrying a lot & baby's kicks is reminding me to not be a worry pot!. Must stop worrying or not my baby will be a worry pot too! :S Can't wait to see baby (in the ultrasound) on Friday!!!

Going to end this post with this quote by Mickey Rivers, "Don't worry about things that you have no control over, because you have no control over them. Don't worry about things that you have control over, because you have control over them". Haha. This make really good sense! ;)

Belly measurement - Oh my! :S

I haven't been doing much measurement of my belly or taking many photos since I've got pregnant. I used to love taking photos with my slimmer face/body and long hair.. just posted an old photo which was taken in April 2011 as my blogger's profile photo. My goal/resolution for 2012 is to get back to my pre-pregnancy clothes by December 2012!

Photo taken in April 2011

I think I'm definitely much bigger compared to many other expectant mothers. My Mom & Mom-in-law were so slim when they were pregnant that no one could see their bumps until they were in their 5th to 6th month! I have got so much bigger even before I reached week 13 :/ I couldn't fit into any of my pants or skirts by week 13. The only pre-pregnancy clothes I could still wear were my low-hip jeans, leggings and some dresses. It was pretty stressful standing in front of the wardrobe & staring at my clothes trying to figure out what I could fit in, almost on a daily basis. I want to be an awesome stylish looking mom-to-be but at the same time I don't want to buy too many maternity clothes because I know I would not be wearing them very much often. After the announcement of my pregnancy, I was really lucky that I inherited many maternity clothes from my aunty, architect and my friends/clients :)))))) It was as if the universe has answered my calling that I was stressed with nothing to wear.. I can throw a maternity wear exchange party now!

I would expect to 'inherit' some slim genes from Mom because I was told how big I get when I am pregnant or whether I would get any stretched marks depending on my 'genes'. I am trying to prevent the stretched marks from happening by putting a lot of oil on my tummy area like crazy; everyday, morning and night. I'm using Bio-Oil for night and L'Occitane Supple Skin Oil for day because it has a nice fragrance and less oily compared to Bio-Oil. I want to wear bikini with my baby in the pool!

I am concerned with my much bigger size. I am quite confident that I would be gaining quite a bit of weight compared to my previous Dr's visit when I get weighed on this Friday, 9th. I measured my belly (around the belly-button/navel point) for the first time last week, 27th Feb at week 20 and it was 37 inches!! Pre-pregnancy waist line was about 27 inches.. I gained 10 inches in 20 weeks, averagely 0.5 inches or 1.27cm in a week. Measured again yesterday, 4th March at week 21 and I was 38 inches!!! That's like a gain of 1 inch or 2.54 cm in just one week (2.7% growth)! If I continue to gain an average of 1 inch for my remaining weeks, that is another 19 weeks to week 40, I would be gaining an extra 19 inches, to a total of 57 inches!!!!!! OH MY!!! That is going to be a really SUPER HUGE BUMP!!

I have asked my yoga instructor, exchange notes with some mothers for their past experiences and even checked out the internet and all of them told me the same thing: not to worry and every pregnancy is different. My major concern if I get too big are gestational diabetes or other pregnancy complications and difficulties in delivery. It's not so much on the 'vain' factor. I am going to ask my doctor about my size this Friday and he probably says it's nothing to worry about. I usually have quite a long list of questions to ask him, which is quite funny. Dr. Choong has an amused look every time I takes out my phone from my handbag to look at my notes before I ask him questions. He usually ends his consultation by saying, 'do you have any questions?' and of course I would use that privilege! Dr. Choong has been very nice and patient. He would answers all my questions and sometimes he would take out articles/scientific journals to back up his explanations.

Well, I guess it's pointless worrying about something I can't control. I cannot control if my tummy gets too big or any other pregnancy matters; it's not in my hands. I guess I'll just do the very best I can in my circle of control.. that is to eat well, have less sugary food (I really miss my chocolate cakes & chocolates!), drink lots and lots of water during the day, exercise and most importantly THINK HAPPY thoughts every single day!

Cravings..

I am feeling very HAPPY this weekend! Sunday has been the day that fulfilled my food cravings :) I haven't had much cravings in this pregnancy. The foods that I am loving more since I've got pregnant are noodles/ramen soup (YUM!), tempura (YUMMY!) and 'char siew' (barbecued pork) (SUPER YUMMY!!!). On Saturday night, at about midnight, I told SJ that I feel like eating pancakes and 'char siew pau' (chinese barbecued pork steamed buns) & he was really nice to offer to drive out and look for these for me. I think he can get char siew pau along Jalan Ipoh in one of those midnight 'dim sum' places but I don't think he can find pancakes in the middle of the night. Of course I didn't let him go out in the middle of the night.. I told him that the cravings feelings will go away and I didn't want to eat middle of night because I don't want to gain too much weight.

Sunday morning came and we went to one of our favourite brunch cafe, Antipodean Cafe along Jalan Telawi, Bangsar so I can have my pancakes!!! Super yummy banana pancakes with butterscotch sauce. Such a great to start my day! Below is a picture of my breakfast today! Banana pancakes & hot chocolate.. so yummy!!! :)))))))

Later in the evening, SJ asked me what I feel like having for dinner & I said bread. Haha. Sounds quite weird because his reaction was like.. erm bread? Yeah, I said.. toasted garlic bread.. and his face was like clueless.. bread for dinner?! I asked how about him? What he feels like? He said pizza.. so great, we can go eat gourmet pizza :) We drove to Bangsar Village (drove to Bangsar twice on the same day!) and had Ben's for dinner.. pizza (I've suddenly started loving pizza crusts!) & salad.. yummy! :)))

Here's a picture of supposedly tiger prawn (but the prawns were so tiny) pizza and SJ's chunky monkey milkshake at Ben's.

It has been a perfect Sunday! A brand new week tomorrow! :)))

Pregnancy Yoga classes

I started pre-natal yoga classes at Fit For Two, Bangsar Village 2, KL when I was in week 14, on the 12th January 2012. I was so excited that I could still fit in my pre-pregnancy gym wear and was back to exercising again that I posted this photo in Facebook to announce my pregnancy for the first time in FB :) This was the one and only time I wore this top to my yoga class, could not fit into this same top anymore the following week :(

SJ & I were so surprised to get more than 100 likes and comments within a day.. was super happy that many of our friends and family were happy with this news. We decided not to tell anyone except immediate family and best friends until after we are 3 months into the pregnancy. There is this Chinese belief that it is better to wait till the pregnancy is stable before announcing to the world because the baby may be 'sensitive' and something unfortunate may happen. We did not really believe it but thought we better follow this ritual to be safe.

Since then, I have been trying to attend at least one class per week. The fees of the class is RM50 per class (one hour) but it's cheaper if bought a dozen classes in advanced. I bought 12 classes for RM480, which expires in 3-4 months. I'm trying to attend 2 classes in a week now as I am in a more comfortable stage now. So proud of myself that I attended two classes this week.. Tuesday and Saturday (today)!

Taking two hours off in a week, another 1.5 hours travel time for each class, which totals to 5 hours off in a week is a very hard thing to do for a workaholic person like me. I was a member of Fitness First back in 2006 but never made it to the gym for more than 2-3 times in a MONTH because exercising has never been a priority to me when I first started my career in the life insurance business. I would block my time for gym in my calendar but somehow it got cancelled at the last minute because meeting clients and new associates were so much more important than exercise. Don't get me wrong thinking that I hate sports or exercising because I was a super active sports girl when I was in school and in university years. I have participated in many school sports and competitions; I would spent many hours under a hot sun to practice netball and was an aerobic class freak when I was in uni. I would go for various aerobic classes up to 4 to 5 times in a week! The ambitious and career passion-driven me has changed all that. 

But how things have changed now! I would pack my yoga clothes in the mornings before I head to office and do my utmost best to make sure I would allocate enough time and reach my yoga class in time.. but somehow most of the time, I was late and sometimes I had to call to cancel my attendance at the last minute because I was just too late :S I am really trying to do my best to make sure I have better fitness and the stamina because I'm sure I would need it at the delivery and after baby arrives. Being at these yoga classes is fun because I get to meet other expectant mothers and most of them are also first time mommies. Fit For Two has 'Mom and Bumps Meets' every Saturday afternoons and I'm looking forward to attend one soon to exchange pregnancy experiences with others. 

Yoga classes in the past few weeks have been rather challenging. I remember telling SJ & my family members that pregnancy yoga classes are like nothing.. because we just sit on the mat most of the time, doing stretching & I did not even break a sweat.. but boy, so much have changed recently. It's either the classes intensity have changed (which I'm sure it has NOT!) or I'm just getting bigger and my body is changing. The yoga instructor mentioned that it would just get harder and harder and I didn't believe her at first! I have been getting shoulders and upper back aches after classes and on the next day. I really need to work on these muscles at home before I become like an instant old lady at the end of this pregnancy :S 

So now, I just need to find the motivation that I had in my younger years to love exercising again and my next target is to start swimming!! We have been talking about swimming even before I started yoga! Hmmm, I know what will give me motivation to swim..I'll go buy a nice swimwear! :))))))

My favourite MOMENTS..

Is listening to baby's heartbeats aloud every time at my antenatal visit. I could remember my feelings when I first heard baby's 'galloping' heartbeats.. SJ & I was like 'WOW!'. It was like one of the most amazing things that I've ever heard. We were in the room with my doctor on my very first appointment.. the room was very quiet.. Dr. Choong was handling the ultrasound machine & our eyes were on the screen the whole time trying to work out that tiny dot on the screen.. then, suddenly, it was as if the whole room went silent.. we heard this fast 'horse galloping' sounds.. & Dr. Choong said this is baby's heart beating! That was when I was in week 6. Could not believe that there was a 'living being' in my tummy & this living being has its own set of heartbeats! 

There were days when I did not feel so 'pregnant', on those days when I was feeling all good, no nausea and I had a high level of energy; I would start to worry about baby a little.. and I always thought wouldn't it be great if I could have a device or a stetescope to listen to baby's heartbeats, so that I would be reassured that baby is doing alright inside. 

That's why I was incredibly jealous of my colleague & distant cousin, Chee Wai when he could download & save his wife's ultrasound visual & heartbeats audio into his computer! He was showing me on his computer the movements of his baby & he could listen to the baby's heartbeats anytime they wanted. I really really wanted that!! :( I requested from Dr. Choong in my very next visit which was on the 13th of Febuary, that I wanted to save the visual & audio of the ultrasound.. but unfortunately he doesn't know how to do that. Dr. Choong is a rather old man and not very tech-savvy but he said I could bring my thumbdrive in my next visit, we can meddle around his equipment & try to save them :))) We're definitely going to try saving the ultrasound in our next visit on the 9th March.

Recently, I have a new favourite moment, which is baby's kicks! Never felt so happy getting 'kicked'! Haha! Started to feel some baby's movements about 3 weeks ago, at week 18 but I was not sure because it could be gas. It was those gentle fluttering sensations in your belly and I was told it may not be easily identified especially in the first pregnancy. Baby's movements are more prominent in week 19 and I can definitely feel baby's kicks in week 20 onwards :) I always feel baby's movements/kicks on my right side on my tummy, I have made a note to ask the doctor which part of him is kicking me.. his hands or feet? 

Baby started kicking more after I started using Baby Plus in week 19. Baby Plus is a prenatal education system, which was introduced to me by SJ's colleague, Kenneth & his wife Hui Ming. We read more about it in the internet and found that it could be helpful and got it right away. I thought the sounds made by this Baby Plus device was rather loud and wondered whether baby likes or hates it. I'm not sure if baby's constant kicking during this system was played (an hour, twice a day, everyday) was baby telling me, 'Mommy, I'm loving it!' or 'Mommy, please stop this one hour torture!'. :S 

SJ's interpretation was that baby would NOT kick if baby hates it. Baby's kicking is because he is responding and loving it. The hours that I use this system are in the mornings (about 7-8am) and nights (about 10.30-11.30pm). The manual advised to use the system at the same time everyday. I could feel baby's kicks around these hours when I did not start the system on time or decided not to use it. So, baby kicks mean he was asking for his pre-natal lessons! I guess this system creates a routine and hopefully it will be helpful for baby's developments in the future.

Just like with the heartbeats, I get worried too if I did not or could not feel baby's kicks. I'm such a worry-pot! I would voiced my concern to SJ & we would put our hands on my tummy.. speaking to my tummy, asking baby to kick. Magically, baby responds to our requests everytime & that would bring a HUGE smile to my face. Really never felt so happy/relieved being kicked! SJ probably thinks I'm weird-worried-over-nothing but I'm thankful that he is always there so reassuring and telling me that everything is going to be alright..  :)))

I'm 21 weeks pregnant TODAY..

Apparently my pregnancy week starts on a Thursday because I received a newsletter/update from www.babycenter.com.my telling me that I'm 21 weeks pregnant today! I have been following babycenter.com since about week 10, after my friend, Audrey introduced this website to me. This website has been incredible useful. It answers many questions I have about pregnancy especially on the what not to eat part at the beginning of my pregnancy.

My last visit at the doctor's was on the 13th February which was quite exciting because we were about to find out our baby's gender!! It was really funny because everyone in the Chong family was so excited especially my sister. My sister, Jamie and mom were sending whatapps messages at 4.30pm after my dr's appointment asking for Dr's findings. I didn't answer Jamie quick enough because was chatting with the staff nurse there and she got annoyed! So funny! Dr Choong couldn't confirm the gender as baby was rather shy that day, but he was 90% sure it's a BOY!!! Hence, this blue coloured background blog :P

Almost everyone 'predicted' that I am carrying a baby boy.. my mom & mom-in-law dreamt that I was carrying a baby boy, a feng shui master predicted that I will have a boy as my first child.. my friend, Cin Neng thinks I'm having a boy because the father-to-be gained weight.. my friend, Yin Teng and my colleague, Cindy thinks that I'm having a boy because I'm looking less 'feminine' while pregnant, this could be my super short hair & I gained quite a lot of weight at the beginning of my pregnancy.. another friend, Mazzy thinks that I have a baby boy bump.. others think it's a boy because I didn't experience major morning sickness at the beginning.. 

I guess only my sister, Jamie wanted a girl.. to both SJ and myself, it doesn't matter whether it's a boy or a girl as long the baby is healthy. I just can't wait for my next visit to see the doctor on the 9th March! I hope baby will be less shy then ;)

I'm 20 weeks pregnant!

I'm 20 weeks pregnant this week!! It's mid-way now! This whole new pregnancy experience is still rather overwhelming & exciting to me. My yoga teacher mentioned that we should keep a record of our pregnancy journey because we'll never have such experience again & no other pregnancy is the same. SJ & I have been very excited but I have not been documenting my journey so far, other than taking a very few pictures of my bump.

I shall try to record my experience as much as i can before the baby comes and I get too busy!

Photo taken at week 20 on 26th February 2012